


Partners

by thisisashittyusername



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: "but i love u huhu", "but you don't know that so- i'm the business man playboy!!", "call me bruce", "ew no bond i am the night", "kisssu kissu fall in love desu", "lol no dick no", "mr wayne", "no!! i can be ur tax! i can be ur girl!", "oh no the dickiebird is sad. i will comfort. eyy i love u kid", "ok bruce! dad! yehey bond!!", "rly", "uhm NO DICK???", "yiz i love u many much wow wow", M/M, Pre Robin, also underage, basically the whole story yeah, but the dick is already adopted, dick why do u not know the difference of platonic love to dick love, eyyyy, eyyyyyyyy, freud help me out, imprinting??, its like a weird freudian parent-dad-child crush thing, kind of platonic?, legit idkk, shippy if you squint really really REALLY hard, some kid 4 years my junior back then anyway had a crush on me too, thats basically what it is, yeah its platonic, yes dick is 12, you know how children have crushes on their parents??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 18:45:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4798373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisashittyusername/pseuds/thisisashittyusername
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'I'll be your partner forever!'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Partners

"So, how are you finding the place?"

"The food's great, Mister Wayne!"

 

A cool, crisp baritone sounds in laughter. Idle chatter give background.

"For the last time, Dick," the man clad in a sharp tux says, "call me _Bruce_."

 

The boy grins sheepishly. "Sorry."

 

The dinner continues on.

It’s a little quiet, but their relationship was new. Not that he minded the silence. He was the _night,_ anyway. The night wasn’t known for its chattering or its clamor.

Bruce finishes up on his salad, while the ever-so-eager Dick gnaws at his steak enough to be morbid. It was nice seeing the boy in his nature like this, not like the stiff pretenses he put on when there was a crowd or an audience to please. Considering Dick's background, though, it probably didn't take much work.

Bruce frowns. No one should ever live a life of lies.

 

_But look who's talking._

 

Maybe that's why they needed each other. They were both broken, anyway.

 

 

"How's school?" he asks Dick, then, in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Oh, school's awesome. All the other kids are pretty friendly, and school work's not coming in as hard as I thought it would have. I even got into some kind of special Math class!" The boy beams proudly. "Details are kind of shady as of now, so I'll just ask around."

"That's good." Bruce flashes at Dick his own smile. "If ever you'll be needing help, Alfred's just there, alright?"

 

"Oh," and Dick suddenly deflates. "You- you're not gonna-?"

 

"Dick, we talked about this," and _damn_ , if those weren't the biggest puppy dog eyes Bruce had ever seen in his life. But he is resolute in his point. Math problems weren't a legitimate enough reason, anyway, to bail on Batman patrol. But Dick didn't need to know about that. "I am the CEO of a very important company. I have a reputation as a playboy. I'm a busy man, Dick, you have to understand." he offers instead.

“Even at night?” the boy frowns.

“ _Especially_ at night.” You know. _Playboys._

 

Bruce expects Dick to drop the topic- find something to talk about instead, like the Wayne business or friendship problems or _whatever_. Dick was strong, anyway, as far as he observed- he didn’t think the 12-year old would need him around all that much.

Or maybe, he suddenly thinks, that was the image he was trying to exude himself, when the boy snaps.

 

"...So you're _leaving me_ to be with taxes and boring old paperwork? Or- or a _girl_?!"

 

Dick's eyes burn into him, and Bruce fixes his hair a little self-consciously. This boy mattered- and would mean _a lot more_ to him in the future, he knew it- than any of the paparazzi he'd already gotten used to. And somehow it makes him more insecure of how he looked right now. How he _sounded_ right now. He didn't want to hurt Dick, but something was telling him he would do nothing but that for the years to come.

 

"Dick..."

"Why do you want to do taxes, anyway? They're really boring and they’re an awful waste of time. I can entertain you, Bruce! We can play games, or- or maybe prank Alfred!" Dick looks a little hurt at the notion of staying at home without Bruce, but he continues on.

"And if you want to be with a girl, I'm here! Obviously, I'm not a _girl_ girl, but I'm someone. I can be that girl!"

 

Bruce can't help the way he chokes on his spit.

 

In a slightly dignified manner, he clears his throat and calms his nerves. "...You have no idea of what… _girls_ … get from people like me… Don't you?"

Dick looks insulted. "Well, whatever it is, I bet you I could!"

"No. You don't even know how it works." Bruce says resolutely, sipping his wine classily- a huge contrast to the flailing and overly-expressive Dick across him from the table.

"Well, maybe it's about finding someone you love! Yeah, and getting married afterward!"

Bruce scoffs. "More like someone to fu-"

 

“You love me, don't you, Bruce? That's why you saved me," Dick continues to interrogate, ignoring Bruce's comment entirely. "And really, I _do_ love you- it's like... I don't know."

 

Dick stops his tirade for a while, catching his breath, looking down at his lap. He stops moving around for a second, calming down before mumbling, "People always say 'Bruce Wayne the selfish this', or 'Bruce Wayne the blah blah that'. But they don't... They don't see how sad you really get sometimes, or how you actually really care. About people. About Alfred. _About me._ About our very own small family. You're a hero, and people always try to undermine that. I know, you’re always busy out there, and it’s not like you _need me_ or anything…” Dick laughs, a little unsure, “-but I needed you. And you- you were _there._ ”

Dick clears his throat. “Some people even called it a publicity stunt, you know... _Adopting me_. But I know it was more than that, right?”

 

“ _Dick…_ ”

 

“Right, Bruce?"

Bruce's eyes widen when the boy raises his head, face red and tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He never thought, with Dick's smiles and his laughter, that he could ever look this sad. And frankly, now that he knew he could, _Bruce never wanted to see it on Dick's face again._

 

"Right." he says, putting a hand over the boy’s own on the table. Dick sighs, sounding a bit too relieved than he should _ever_ be, and smiles with a slight sniffle.

 

"You love me?"

"I love you."

 

“Good,” and Dick laughs. Bruce can’t help the warmth he feels at the sound. “I love you, too.”

 

Bruce stares fondly at Dick's beautiful smile- something that should’ve been etched on the boy’s mouth _all the time_ \- before getting shocked into place when the boy leans toward him with puckered lips.

 

"What are you doing," he asks, raising his hand to block his face when Dick's gets too close.

Dick _mmphs_ against his palm, before pulling away with a sort of… _giddiness._ "You said we loved each other, right? Now we're supposed to kiss, and sleep on your bed, then get married! Just like in the movies Alfred watches sometimes!"

Bruce is flabergasted. "Alfred?! _Wh-_ "

 

"You said it yourself, Bruce: we _love_ each other."

"We. Are. Not. Getting. Married. You don't even know what you're saying."

"Yes, I do!" Dick huffs indignantly. "I do, and I'm marrying you!"

"It's not a dare, so _stop taking it like one_ , Dick." Bruce says firmly, but the growing smile on his face is obvious.

"No! I'm _marrying_ you, Bruce Wayne!" Dick insists. "And that's that! I'll be your partner forever!"

 

Bruce cannot help the amused chuckle that forces its way out his throat.

“Come on, kiddo. It's almost bedtime.” He offers his hand to Dick, and walks them out the restaurant.

 

“I can’t believe you just leave me hanging like that! _You just said-_ Urgh! Mark my words, Bruce, one day-”, and Bruce _definitely_ does not smile at how the kid just suddenly called him by his first name right there (no matter the circumstances of the conversation), “I'll be Richard John Wayne- maybe you'll be Bruce Grayson, or, or! We can just switch, and you’d have to buy me a ring- maybe something as simple as what my Pa bought-”

 

As Dick rattles on, Bruce shakes his head humorously. This kid had no concept of the different kinds of love in his age, which was adorable. (And somehow a cause for concern that had to be dealt with _immediately._ ) But somehow, something struck him.

_‘I'll be your partner forever!’_

 

Little did they know, Batman's Robin was just about to be born.


End file.
